


Coming Home

by megwritesbadly



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Spoilers for Season 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25669741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megwritesbadly/pseuds/megwritesbadly
Summary: Snapshots into your relationship with the Hargreeves family, more specifically Number Six or as you knew him, Ben.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves/Reader, The Hargreeves Family & Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> Based in the TV show because I haven’t read the comics. Also it’s named after my favourite song in the Umbrella Academy 2 soundtrack. Also also, this really just turned into a short form of a rewrite, which I am open to do, let me know. Also also also I hate writing fight scenes so I will not be writing them that often (I’ll save them for the actual rewrite ;) )

It all started with a bank robbery. The first time you’d ever stepped into a bank and it’s on the day it is being destroyed. One of the men had you, your parents, and some other patrons separated to the side of the building. Your mama had one arm wrapped around your waist and another covering your head while your other mother had her arm in front of the two of you, trying to protect in whatever way possible. The man stood over you all menacingly as his compatriots terrorised some other patrons and tellers. 

A girl in a pristine uniform (from a school you didn’t quite recognise) strode in behind the man that appeared to be the leader of the robbers. She whispered something you couldn’t hear in his ear and he suddenly turned on his own men, shooting one in the foot. 

You shrieked and looked at your mama who stared wide-eyed at the girl. Another child in the same uniform as the girl fell through the roof and literally threw one of the robbers out of the bank entirely.

“They’re like me!” You whispered bewilderedly in your mama’s ear. 

A third child ran into the building stating, “Guns are for sissies. Real men throw knives.”

Just how many of these kids were there?

Working together, the team of six kids defeated the robbers one by one and released all of the hostages. As you ran with your mothers, you looked back to see one of them, shorter than the rest, who looked ill and afraid. He tried to give you a shaky smile before he entered a separate room and you were pulled out of his view.

~~~~

It had only been a few days since the bank robbery but it was all you could think about. All of those kids had powers just like you! And they had such amazing training and control over them. So you decided that maybe you should practise your own, especially since the previous times you’d used them were flukes when you were very young. You picked some weeds from the footpath in front of your house and brought them inside to your bathroom. You placed them in your sink and opened the window just in case. Your mother called up the stairs concerned because you were never really one for running around the house. You reassured that you were fine and nothing was broken.

You closed the door and walked back to the sink, bracing your hands on the sink. You stared long and hard at the weeds in the sink, your eye beginning to twitch from the strain. Clearly, that wasn’t going to work, so you blinked to lessen the watering then picked one of them up. You held it out in front of your face and stared at it once more, hoping that would do something. It didn’t.

You dropped the weed back into the sink frustrated and turned around to close your eyes and take a deep breath. When you opened them again, you were ready. You held out your hand, almost like you were reaching to grab the weeds again. You closed your hand in a fist tightly and the weeds were set alight. You looked into your reflection and saw eyes aglow with the embers of a roaring flame. You felt incredible pride and power swell through you.

The flame grew more intense as you were almost overwhelmed by your emotions, so you panicked and opened the tap to douse the weeds and send them down the drain. You glanced back at your reflection to see that your eyes had melted back to their normal hue. An ecstatic grin grew on your face before you ran back out to your bedroom to write the happenings in your diary.

Across the street from your house stood a tall man in a perfectly tailored suit, holding a briefcase in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. He stared through your open bathroom window before taking another look at the paper. He nodded resolutely before turning and walking a few blocks towards an alley nearby then disappearing in a flash of blue light.

~~~~

You had been spending nearly every spare second of your time practicing your fiery little trick. If you weren’t at school, eating meals, doing homework, or hanging out with your mums, you were practicing in your bedroom or bathroom. You were now able to simply snap your fingers and you could hold a flame on them like a lighter. It had taken your parents some getting used to, the fact that you were now openly practising your powers but they were incredibly supportive. Just as they had been when you had accidental “episodes”.

It had been a lovely May afternoon when you were walking home from school. Your last day of middle school had been wonderful, you and your friends bought little gifts to tide you over until you could spend the summer with each other again. You were incredibly excited to show yours off to your parents before you went to Griddy’s for your traditional post-school, pre-summer donuts.

You reached your front porch and stopped in your tracks. The door was strangely ajar. You crept up the steps as quietly as possible, peeking through the door. A woman in tall heels, flanked by two people in suits, stood in front of two bodies on the floor. Your gaze panned down to the corpses. Your eyes widened in shock. You nearly fell back. The bodies were your mothers’.

You covered your mouth with your hand so any noise would at least be muffled. You stepped back slowly then took off down the street. The woman in your house raised her blonde head and turned to the woman on her right.

“Well, go get her.” She spat.

The suits nodded before starting to chase you.

You had dumped your bag somewhere down the street as you ran, hoping it would distract them from where you were going. You then hid behind a dumpster in an alley a few blocks from your house, breathing heavily in panic. Thundering footsteps ran closer to your hiding spot and your chest tightened. They approached the alley cautiously so clearly they knew you were dangerous. You cowered further into your little nook, attempting not to make any noise but clearly one must have heard you as they moved ever closer to you.

You ducked your head into your knees and closed your eyes, calling for who or whatever power that would listen and help you. Unfortunately, this led to your guard being down long enough for your arm to be snatched and for you to be dragged up face-to-face with an angry-looking woman. During your struggle, you realised your entire arm began to heat up, pinpointing on the particular spot where the woman’s hand gripped you. She pulled the appendage away in agony, crying for her partner to help. He ran over to you attempting to snatch you up as well but you sent a well-timed fire ball at him burning him alive instantly. The woman stared at her partner in horror before it melted into steely anger. 

She pulled out a knife, claiming, “The Handler said to bring you in alive. She didn’t quite mention what shape you needed to be in.”

She lunged at you with the knife, but you grabbed her wrist before she could strike you. You glared at the blade harshly, simply melting it with your gaze. Her momentary shock meant that you could immolate her too. Her brief screams rang in your ears sharply. You looked around anxiously, needing a speedy exit before people would investigate the noise. You spotted a fire escape on the other end of the alley, leading to an open window that you could probably squeeze into.

You ran to the fire escape, and fit through the window. Luckily the apartment was empty, and you left the building as quickly and quietly as possible. You walked around the city in a daze, people stopping every so often to give you a funny look before moving on with their day. You probably looked a state: your hair was a mess, one shoe fell off in your haste to leave the alley, and your sleeves were singed from the fire balls you threw at those assassins.

You broke out of the haze to see you had stopped at Griddy’s; your subconscious had led you to a place of comfort.

You opened the door and walked inside, searching for Ace, one of the regular servers. They waved at you, losing some of their pep when they saw you were alone and in an awful way. They ran from behind the counter to stand in front of you, grabbing your shoulders.

“Oh my god, are you okay sweetie?”

When it was clear that you weren’t going to be speaking any time soon, Ace looked around nervously at the other patrons. There was only one elderly man and a college-aged couple so they weren’t too worried about them. They sat you in a booth at the back of the restaurant and went about fixing up your traditional meal. You sat in a stupor for hours, only taking little sips of your drink and tiny nibbles at your donut.

Ace eventually had to go home, but they spoke to the waitress clocking on about how you should be left alone for now.

What kicked you out of your own head was the sound of rowdy kids entering the restaurant. They ordered their food, which was a lot, and sat two booths away from you. They chattered excitedly, apparently having snuck out to come to Griddy’s “after a hard day’s training”. One of them tapped another on the shoulder and pointed to you.

“That’s the girl?” The taller of the two whispered.

The quiet one nodded.

“Well let’s go say hi!” He called.

“Wait no! Klaus!” The shorter one hissed through his teeth and reached for his brother’s arm. But Klaus had already begun to make his way to your booth. The others stared at his back and watched with anticipation as he sat down.

“Hi, Klaus Hargreeves is the name. And making sad girls smile is the game.” You stared at him, puzzled by his sudden appearance in front of you. The involuntary staring contest led to a tiny grin peeking at the corners of your lips. You told him your name.

“So what the hell happened to you?” He asked, grabbing a handful of sugar packets from the container on the table, tearing them open and pouring them all into his mouth.

Your face dropped instantly and you fiddled with your singed sleeves. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, Klaus.”

“Try me,” he said around a mouthful of sugar.

You took a shaky breath and explained what had happened that day. When you had finished your explanation you expected to look up and see an empty seat. What you found instead was a sympathetic face.

“Jesus, that’s rough.” He paused for a second. “Can I see the flame-y fingers?”

He wasted no time, huh?

You narrowed your eyes at him incredulously, “Seriously, I tell you a tragic story about what happened to me today and you wanna see my powers? What is wrong with you?”

“A lot, now let’s see ‘em.”

You gave one shocked guffaw and continued to stare at his unmoving face. You sighed heavily before bringing your hand up and snapping your fingers. 

“Holy shit that’s pretty cool!” Klaus cried.

He grabbed your hand and dragged you over to his siblings, introducing each of them to you and vice versa.

You sat awkwardly between Klaus and the short kid you’d seen weeks ago at the bank. Your eyes widened in recognition and he reciprocated the action.

“Hi, I’m Ben.” He held out his hand as well as he could considering how tightly packed you were in the booth.

“Y/N.”

~~~~

After you told them everything you told Klaus (also confirming that you were born on the 1st of October 1989), the siblings explained what your powers meant and what they all could do. You also discussed what would happen when they left Griddy’s. they took you back to their mansion where a lovely woman was waiting for them at the front door.

“Who’s this, children?”

In unison, they repeated your name.

She ushered all of you to the living room where she had hot chocolate prepared. She introduced herself as Grace, and appeared to be the children’s mother figure.

As you all sat down and enjoyed your drinks, a presence began to loom over you.

A sharp voice tinged with an accent boomed from behind you, “Now what is the meaning of this?”

A sharply dressed man wearing a monocle (a bit strange at this time of night) was stood in the threshold of the living room. Luther (the leader as he was proud to announce) jumped up to explain who you were and what you could do to his father.

“Prove it.” His cold demeanour was aimed now at you.

You stood on shaky legs in front of him and snapped your fingers, much like your demonstration to Klaus.

The man seemed pleased, but clearly never showed emotion as you couldn’t actually read his face.

“Go to bed, all of you.” He commanded. You stayed awkwardly in the living room. “You too, Number Eight.” He nodded to the stairs where Ben was waiting. 

Ben led you to a bedroom that looked like it had never been touched before. Clearly, the old man had been preparing for more children like you.

You thanked him and bid him good night as he waved from the door of the bedroom across from you.

That night, you couldn’t sleep, flashes of your mothers’ dead bodies, and the screams of the people you burned alive keeping you awake until the sun broke through the curtains.

~~~~

You continued to live with the Hargreeves for the next five years, training with them for any potential hero situations and practicing your best smile. Reginald had given you exactly the same uniform as Allison and Vanya, and Allison was eager to have another “sister” around.

You felt bad but you let her know as soon as possible that you really weren’t siblings. But that you could be best friends, which placated her significantly.

The Hargreeves family member you grew closest to initially was naturally Klaus. He was the first to approach you in the diner, the first to make you smile, the first to invite you into the family.

Then, considering they were practically attached at the hip, was Ben. Ben truly was one of the sweetest people you had ever met in your life. The first few weeks that you stayed at the Hargreeves mansion were incredibly tough and he never failed to make you smile.

It had been an incredibly difficult day of training. This would have been your mama’s birthday and you were missing her terribly. That plus the fact that Reginald thought he would “train” you individually made the day all the more exhausting.

Your energy had been drained from the morning already, so when old Reggie wanted you to stretch your power’s limit, you were simply pushing yourself too hard. That night you laid in bed, staring at the wall, tears streaming down your face. You remembered the last birthday you shared with your mama. Her beaming face as your mother gave a big kiss and helped her cut the cake. Her tender gaze as she looked over the present you made for her. Her warm embrace as she squeezed your body in a tight hug.

You hadn’t realised you were making any noise until you heard a gentle knock on the door. Your hoarse voice called softly, “Come in.”

Ben peeked around the door to see your shivering body attempting to hold in the cries. He asked if he could move closer. Rather than answering verbally, you sat up and leaned against the headboard, patting the bed beside you.

He shuffled over awkwardly and sat down stiffly. You broke the few minutes of silence with a shaky breath.

“It’s my mama’s birthday today.” You whispered into the night’s air.

Ben looked at you with alarm which blended into concern when you looked back down at your shaky hands.

He reached over to grab the hand nearest to him. You continued to exist in a more comfortable silence as he held it tightly. The next morning, you were lucky to be woken by Klaus, who shook your shoulders roughly and warned Ben that he had to leave quickly before Reginald saw you.

From that day forward, you and Ben were sickeningly sweet. You shared nervous, smitten glances at the dining table, you held each other after long days of gruelling training and anytime you, Ben or Klaus were feeling down, you would congregate in said person’s room and simply hang out. Sometimes you wouldn’t speak, other times you would make each other laugh so hard you worried about your sanity. But they truly became the closest people in your life.

Klaus became your brother and Ben became your soulmate. The day that solidified it though, was the day you got tattooed.

The siblings had already been tattooed, apparently, Reginald wanted it done before they made their first public appearance in that bank all those months ago. But you were due to make your first appearance soon and so you needed one too.

It was quite painful, and the siblings weren’t allowed near you to comfort you whilst you were being tattooed, so they were forced to watch you grit your teeth and bear it. The second it was done and wrapped up, you were dismissed to prepare for training.

Ben snuck into your bedroom before you got changed into your training clothes.

“So, welcome to the Umbrella Academy. Officially that is.” He said, smiling at you lightly.

“Thanks, Ben.” You returned the favour as you flicked through your closet to gather everything.

“Hey, Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“I really like you.”

“Hey Ben?”

“Yeah?”

“I really like you too.”

After that, your relationship grew like a weed in concrete. Against the odds and defying Reggie’s orders, you and Ben fell in love.

You snuck out on dates as often as possible and where you couldn’t, you spent time in each other’s rooms making your own dates. Klaus would play waiter during these at-home dates and would bring you poorly cooked food and surprisingly delicious drinks.

Your first kiss was at 15. 

The two of you were in his room having a quiet dance party when Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler came on. Your heads swivelled to meet each other’s gaze instantly. You lip-synced along dramatically and twirled around the room together. The song reached the dramatic instrumental break, and you and Ben stopped moving. You faced each other from opposite sides of the room, out of breath from all the activity. The two of you walked slowly towards each other, coming together in the middle of the room with your best attempt at a passionate kiss. Considering the two of you had never kissed anyone before, it was quite a pleasant experience. 

You pulled away and stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before you closed yours and leaned your head towards his. Your foreheads pressed together, you continued to listen to the song, your bubble breaking as it faded out.

You said the first “love you”s at 16 and you said your final goodbyes at 17.

~~~~

The year was 2006. A procession of teenagers carrying black umbrellas stepped through their back door and walked single file into the snowy courtyard. They formed two semi even lines on either side of a coffin laid in the centre. Number Seven led them, crying softly. Then was Number Four, one arm wrapped around Number Eight’s heaving shoulders and the other holding his umbrella over them both. Number Two moved next to Grace on the other side of Number Four. Number One and Three stood resolutely next to Seven, keeping their distance.

Pogo walked in front of the coffin, announcing Reginald’s arrival, “Your father is ready to give the eulogy, children.”

“The world is full of injustice,” he began, looking around at all of them, “Good people die along with the bad. This cosmic equation will never change unless evil itself is wiped from existence. Thankfully, there are powerful forces pushing back against the wicked and iniquitous, individuals who have the strength to pull together against insurmountable odds, to face adversity with unblinking courage, and not to hesitate to sacrifice themselves for another.”

Klaus’ arm tightened around your shoulder and his thumb rubbed your arm lightly.

“Unfortunately,” Reginald continued, “none of you are such people. Despite years of training and weeks of preparation, you allowed Number Six to die on this mission.”

His gaze shifted to you as you cried, “It wasn’t our fault.”

“Excuses? I will not hear them.” His voice was malicious, piercing your already broken heart. “The Umbrella Academy has failed one of their own, the consequences of which are dire. Hold onto this feeling, children. Let it fester in your hearts so there is never a next time. Training will be cancelled today out of respect for your brother. We resume tomorrow at 6:00am.”

Reginald stalked back towards the house, with Grace and Pogo in tow.

Your sobs increased as you could finally show your true emotion.

Vanya tried to soothe you all, “It wasn’t anybody’s fault.”

Diego responded harshly, “How would you know, Vanya? You weren’t even on the mission.”

Vanya stormed away.

Luther and Diego started another argument, “Nice going, asshole.”

“What? We were all thinking it.” Diego continued.

“Guys, please can we not do this right now?” Allison placated, prompting both boys to look at you trembling in Klaus’ arms.

The two of them grew uncomfortable and walked away with Allison, continuing their argument.

Klaus pulled you from his body and asked if you wanted to go inside. You nodded and asked through your tears what he wanted to do.

He led you to the gazebo nearby so he was out of the snow before passing the umbrella back to you. He sent you off and faced the opposite direction.

Klaus conjured Ben’s ghost with some difficulty, turning at the call of his name.

“Where… where am I?” Ben glanced around confused.

“You’re back in the land of the living. It’s been a total shitshow since you died. The family’s a mess.” Klaus screwed open his flask and took a swig. 

“Listen, um, I need to go back.” Ben said awkwardly.

“What? No. Why? You just got here.” Klaus moved towards him.

“I know. But there’s a light, and they told me to walk into it.” Ben seemed unsure.

“Pfft. That thing? Don’t worry about it. You can go whenever you want.” Klaus said nonchalantly.

“Are you sure?” Ben perked up.

“Yes, 1000 percent. Trust me Benerino. It’s not going anywhere. I’m the expert on the dead, remember?”

“Hey, Klaus?” Ben inquired, “How’s Y/N doing?”

“Not great, dude. Not great.”

~~~~

At 18, you and Klaus decided that enough was enough. You packed a small bag of necessities each and just bolted.

At 22, Klaus’ drug habits and party lifestyle meant that the two of you could no longer exist in the same space anymore. You were trying to make ends meet with two jobs and he would steal half of it to fund his misdeeds. So you kicked him out.

Of course, you couldn’t just leave your brother all by himself, you checked on him once in a while but you never really hung out like you used to. Like you all used to.

Unbeknownst to you, Klaus had been able to see Ben quite often. Your sweet, loving, increasingly frustrated Ben. The same Ben who was currently berating Klaus who was stuck in rehab once more.

“Dude, you’re almost thirty. You have got to get your shit together.” Ben pled.

“Oh please, why should I? Huh? You’re all so damn loud all the time, it’s the only way I get some peace.” Klaus spoke, his roommates giving him a look.

“Ok, do it for Y/N. I know you still haven’t told her about seeing me.” Ben looked sad, and for once, Klaus actually felt kind of bad.

“Well, Benny boy. Y/N kicked me out. So, you can’t see her anyway. Besides, what am I meant to do? Play messenger for you two? No thanks.”

Ben simply sighed and disappeared again.

~~~~

On your way home to take a nap between shifts, you listened to the radio. You tapped your fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song they were playing. The end of the song was cut off by a sudden interruption.

“Apologies, we bring you breaking news. Eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves has passed away overnight. A statement from his butler released no cause of death but his children would be coming home for his funeral. Thank you.”

You turned the radio off immediately and pulled over when it was safe to take a moment just to breathe. You then set off back to your apartment and called in sick, letting your boss know what was going on. She gave you some time off to cope and wished you well. The other boss was not as pleased. He fired you as soon as you asked for some time off. 

Well. That was not quite how you imagined the day would turn out.

A few days later, you pulled up to the Hargreeves mansion. You had forgotten just how intimidating it was to be back there.

When you entered the house, everyone was already gathered in the living room.

“Were you seriously just going to forget about me?” You called out, approaching them gingerly.

“Y/N!” Klaus bounded up to you excitedly, pulling you into a tight embrace.

“Hey Klaus.” You sighed gently.

You got various greetings from everyone: a nod from Luther, a slight grimace and wave from Diego, a much softer smile from Vanya, and a gentle one-armed hug from Allison.

You sat next to Vanya on the couch.

Klaus had wandered behind the bar to make himself a drink when Luther stood, clearing his throat.

“I guess we should get this started. So I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown. Say a few words, just at Dad’s favourite spot.”

“Dad had a favourite spot?” Allison inquired.

“You know, under the oak tree. We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?”

Klaus interrupted walking over to stand next to the couch, “Will there be refreshments? Tea? Scones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a winner.”

“What? No.” Luther stared at him incredulously. “And put that out. Dad didn’t allow smoking in here.”

Klaus scoffed and strode over to you, letting you take a sip from his drink. 

“Is that my skirt?” You looked down at Klaus’ legs, yeah that was Allison’s skirt.

“Oh yeah, this! I found it in your room. It’s a little dated I know, but it’s breathy on the bits.” He gestured to his “area”.

“Gross,” you muttered under your breath.

Luther, ever the leader, spoke up, “Listen, there’s still some important things that we need to discuss, all right?”

This kickstarted an argument that separated you all to various rooms to bask in the nostalgia, Luther had potentially accused you all of murder.

You made your way to Ben’s room first, not quite ready to see your own yet. It was kept meticulously clean, probably by Grace. You traced your fingers over the photos on the wall as you made your way to his record collection. One, in particular, drew your attention, Bonnie Tyler. Total Eclipse of the Heart was your song with Ben. God you missed him.

You then made your way to your room and flopped face-first onto the mattress, trying to keep yourself together. You turned your head so you could at least breathe.

From somewhere in the house, a quiet tune began to play. An involuntary smile formed on your face as the song played louder.

Ah, Tiffany. You were a big fan of I Think We’re Alone Now, you and Ben listened to it often during your dance parties.

You jumped on the bed and began to bounce around singing along to the song. Somewhere in the back of your head, you wondered what your family was doing, if they enjoyed the song too, but you continued to dance carefree. 

A clap of thunder and a bright light outside led you to follow everyone into the courtyard where a vortex was opened. Klaus burst through you all to throw a fire extinguisher into the opening.

Diego and Luther being the heroes they were, yanked Klaus behind them and into you. They held their arms in front of you as if that was going to protect you. Klaus grabbed your wrist and tried to pull you back inside.

“I vote for running, c’mon!”

A screaming face appeared in the vortex, a man’s that morphed into a boy’s. That same boy then fell out of the portal which closed it entirely. 

“Does anyone else see little Number Five or is that just me?” Klaus inquired.

So this was Number Five.

~~~~

You stood outside, staring up at the face of Ben’s statue. It didn’t quite capture his likeness, there was no warmth in his expression. No crinkles at the corner of his eyes, no smile. Just stone-faced, no pun intended.

It was there that the siblings found you. This was almost a familiar scene. They all walked out single file and crowded around the centre of the courtyard, Pogo and Grace standing at the proverbial head of the group.

Vanya walked over to you, tapping you on the shoulder and trying to let you under her umbrella. There was no space, so you stood next to her in the rain.

Grace asked, “Did something happen?”

Vanya looked at her kindly as Allison probed gently, “Dad died. Remember?”

Grace seemed more like the robot she was with her answer, “Oh. Yes, of course.”

Pogo reassured Luther, “Whenever you’re ready, dear boy.”

Luther poured Reginald’s ashes rather anticlimactically onto the paving, “Probably would’ve been better with some wind.”

Pogo tried to break the tension, “Does anyone wish to speak?”

The siblings stayed silent as he glanced at you.

“Very well,” he started reservedly, “In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that alone, I shall forever be in his debt. He was my master and my friend, and I shall miss him very much.”

You felt incredibly sorry for Pogo. Reginald was certainly not a nice man but clearly, Pogo cared for him very deeply. “He leaves behind a complicated legacy—"

Diego scoffed, “He was a monster.”

Klaus began to laugh.

Diego continued with a hint of disappointment, “He was a bad person and a worse father. The world’s better off without him.”

Allison scolded him sharply with a call of his name.

“My name is Number Two. You know why? Because our father couldn’t be bothered to give us actual names. He had Mom do it.”

Grace perked up at the mention of the word “mom”, “Would anyone like something to eat?”

Vanya calmed her, “No, it’s okay Mom.”

Diego moved into the centre of the circle, nearing Reginald’s ashes, “Look, you wanna pay your respects? Go ahead. But at least be honest about the kind of man he was.”

Luther bristled, “You should stop talking now.”

Diego poked the bear a little more, “You know, you of all people should be on my side here, Number One.” 

“I’m warning you.”

Diego ignored him, “After everything he did to you? He had to ship you a million miles away.”

Luther gritted his teeth, “Diego, stop talking.”

The final verbal blow came from the shorter man, “That’s how much he couldn’t stand the sight of you!”

Then the two began to brawl, you pulled Vanya out of the way as Klaus shot an arm in front of an indignant Five.

Pogo attempted to stop the fight before it got ugly. They of course didn’t listen so Pogo merely shook his head disappointedly and left the scene.

Luther threw Diego to the floor, shifting the momentum dangerously close to Ben’s statue. 

It seemed they had finally tired each other out as they separated long enough for Five to quip, “We don’t have time for this.”

Diego taunted Luther once more and they kicked off again. Diego dodged Luther’s punch which then landed in statue Ben’s stomach.

You gasped loudly as the statue fell off the pedestal, losing its head for good measure.

Klaus groaned in what sounded like pained frustration.

Allison sighed sadly, “And there goes Ben’s statue.”

The family watched as you ran to the head and fell to your knees next to it, hands outstretched and unsure. 

You heard a cry of “Diego, no!” and looked up in time to see Diego throw a knife at Luther, slicing his arm. Luther stormed inside, covering the wound with his hand.

You couldn’t care less about their fight honestly with Ben’s copper head staring at you. Your eyes burned with unshed tears.

Allison looked at you sadly before heading inside herself. Vanya reprimanded a distant Diego, “You never know when to stop do you?”

“You got enough material for the sequel yet?”

“He was my father too.” Vanya left the rainy courtyard without a second glance.

Diego at least seemed remorseful as he escorted Grace inside.

Klaus crouched over his father’s ashes, “I bet you’re loving this. Hmm? tHE TEAM AT ITS BEST. IT’S JUST LIKE OLD TIMES.” HE left HIS cigarette in the ash, strutting over to you. 

You were now sobbing, cradling the statue’s head as if it was Ben’s head. Flashbacks from the day you lost him replayed over and over in your mind. Klaus approached you gingerly, calling your name.

He recognised the sign of a traumatic flashback and tried to think back to how Grace would get you out of one.

He called your name once more, waiting for you to acknowledge that you heard him. You responded with his name, your voice sounding distant in your own ears. Klaus reached a hand out and asked if he could grab your arm to help you up. When you shook your head no, he sighed and crouched next to you, waiting for your call.

After a few minutes, you reached your hand to grab his tattooed palm. Yours was slippery from the rain and sweat but for once, Klaus couldn’t find a witty remark.

You cleared your throat but your voice was still hoarse, “Can we please go inside?”

Klaus nodded and helped you up, kissing your hand and letting you wrap an arm around his bicep.

~~~~

It had been a fucking long few days. To sum it all up, Five was now a time-traveling assassin with a mannequin for a girlfriend, he traveled really far forward into the future, the apocalypse to be precise. He essentially said that you were all going to die a matter of days if you didn’t help him find out the owner of an eye. Long story short, Vanya had powers, got a boyfriend, killed the boyfriend, almost killed Allison, and destroyed the Academy with Pogo and Grace inside.

You all regrouped at the local bowling alley, seated near some random kid’s birthday party.

You were the only one bowling, getting a spare on your latest bowl. Luther looked at each of the others, “Look, I hate to be the one to say this, but everyone needs to prepare.”

“For what?” Diego was still angry that Vanya was locked up.

“To do whatever it takes to stop Vanya.” Allison slapped Luther with her notepad. “We may not have a choice, Allison.”

“Bullshit,” Diego stated matter-of-factly, “There’s always options.”

This bowl was a 7-10 split and you weren’t very good with those. 

You took a breath and went for the 7th pin, hoping to knock it into the 10th and send them both crashing down.

“Yeah, like what?” Five pushed. 

Diego resigned, “I don’t know.”

“Look, whatever we decide, we need to find Vanya. And fast, okay? She could be anywhere.” Luther continued.

“Shit!” You knocked the 7th down but the 10th pin did not want to play along. 

Klaus shook the newspaper he was holding. “Or here. Look at this.”

There was an ad in the newspaper for a concert where Vanya was the soloist. “That’s right,” Diego responded, “her concert is tonight.”

“Hello, I hate to intrude, but my manager says if you’re not gonna bowl, you gotta leave.” An employee approached them nervously. From where they were all crowded around Klaus, they pointed to you as you scored a strike.

“Whoo-hoo!” You cheered.

The employee nodded and shuffled away awkwardly. Allison used the time to write on her notepad, “She’s our sister.”

“We’re the only capable of stopping this.” Luther was resolute. “We have a responsibility to Dad.”

Diego was now far beyond frustrated with his bigger brother, “To Dad? No, I’ve heard enough about—”

Luther saw only his faith in his father, “He sacrificed everything to bring us back together.”

Five agreed, “I’m with Luther on this one. We can’t give her a chance to fight back. There are billions of lives at stake. We’re past trying to save just one.”

You lined the ball up for another bowl and managed to get seven down, with a cluster of three you go finish off with the next bowl.

“Hey, you know, guys maybe I could help.” Klaus piped up anxiously.

“Now is not the time.” Luther was being stubborn again.

You knocked only two of the other pins down, “Dammit!”

“No, let him finish. He saved my life today.” Diego stated.

Luther looked at Klaus disbelievingly, “Is that true?”

“Yeah, yeah I did,” Klaus replied but upon Ben’s outrage, continued with “take the credit for it. In fact, the real hero was Ben.”

Upon hearing his name, you turned to face the group once more, “Ben?” you asked skeptically.

Clearly, the family agreed with your disbelief.

Klaus sighed, “Today… Listen. Today he punched me in the face.” Klaus walked towards you gesturing wildly, “And earlier at the house, he was the one who saved Diego’s life, not me.”

Klaus ignored Luther’s cry of “You are unbelievable Klaus” to look you in the eye.

“You have to trust me, Y/N,” he pled, “It was Ben.”

You were still not convinced so he spun around to face all of you.

“You want proof, is that it? All right. I-I’ll give you proof.” It was that little stutter right there that convinced you. Klaus would never have cared this much if it wasn’t true.

He grabbed a ball, and held it to his chest, “Showtime baby, are you ready?” You stared in the direction Klaus was looking, hoping to see even Ben’s silhouette.

The ball simply flew through the air and bounced heavily on the floor. 

This simply raised his family’s annoyance with him.

“Is there any way to silence that voice in your head that screams out to be the centre of attention?” Luther’s voice was gruff with anger.

Klaus saw it as another potential quip, “You know, I liked you a lot better before you got laid.”

Oh dear, Allison didn’t know about that.

Before the conversation got too awkward, you moved it along, “Wait, what’s going on with Ben?”

But Allison and Luther’s relationship drama got in the way as she stormed off.

A grating voice came from the party in the lane near you, “Excuse me! Excuse me, it’s my son Kenny’s birthday today, and uh, wouldn’t your son be happier to play with kids his own age. Assuming it’s okay with you three.” She looked between you, Klaus and Diego.

Wow, for such an annoying voice she was pretty progressive.

“I would rather chew off my own foot.” Five grit out through his teeth.

“Whoa, okay! What my son means is that today is a very important family day and we would like to spend it together, thank you though.” You stepped in front of Five, as Kenny and his mom paled.

“Let’s go, Kenny.” They scurried off.

Five left your lane for another as Diego and Klaus gave each other gas.

“Even if we were the last people on earth, I would never date you. No offense Y/N.”

Too focused on Five, you responded absently, “None taken.”

“You would be lucky to get us,” Klaus shot back.

When you stepped closer to Five, you could hear him say, “How the hell did she find me?” as he picked up a brassy cylinder. 

Inside was a blinking tracker he destroyed, along with a fortune cookie. Then he turned and flashed away before you could ask him what was going on.

You went back to your lane to play a game against Klaus and Diego.

Klaus had just rolled the ball into the gutter again when Luther and Allison returned. 

“All right, where’s Five?”

“He left,” Diego answered.

“Oh, for the love of… Where’d he go?” Luther wondered.

“Didn’t tell us.”

“Well, we’re not waiting around for him. The concert starts in 30 minutes.”

Luther and Diego launched into yet another argument, so you went back to bowling with Allison, while they sorted their shit out.

A team of masked assailants entered the building and began to simply shoot. 

“Who the hell are these guys?” Diego cried from his cover.

“Maybe they’re here for Kenny’s birthday!” Klaus called between you and Allison.

Luther responded with logic, “No I’m pretty sure they’re here for us!”

Diego killed one of the masked people with a knife which launched them into a record player and the light board.

Perfect atmosphere for a fight.

~~~~

When Klaus conjures Ben in the bowling alley

There was a strange rush of pride that overwhelmed you as you ran into the Icarus Theatre with everyone. On one hand, you knew that this is what Vanya had been working towards all her life but on the other hand, she was a ticking time bomb that could potentially end the world.

Allison stopped you all from entering the auditorium, “I need to go alone.” She wrote on her notepad.

Luther and his frustrating hero complex ignored her plea, “Allison, I can’t let you do that. She’s beyond reasoning.”

“You hear the music? It’s started.” Diego pointed out.

“Do you honestly think she’s gonna listen? After everything that’s happened?”

“It’s worth a shot Luther.” You said.

Klaus muttered, “We don’t have time for this.”

Luther gave her the okay and Allison went in by herself.

“You’re using her as a distraction, aren’t you?” Diego asked.

“Our best chance to incapacitate Vanya.”

You all entered soon after bar Klaus, who was relegated to being the lookout.

You mouthed an apology to him as you followed the other men.

Pride welled in you again as you watched Vanya over Diego’s shoulder. You felt so awful about what you were about to do, especially when you saw her smile at Allison.

Diego and Luther both ran for her and were sent back with a blast from her violin bow. They were launched into the audience who all began to run for their lives, the orchestra hoping to follow suit. Vanya forced them to sit back down and restart playing. Vanya continued her solo, sending another blast into the auditorium. Hoping to catch her off guard while she was playing, you planned to creep up behind her and steal her bow which appeared to be the vessel for her power. 

First, you checked on the siblings, Allison poked her head out from behind a seat to hold out her thumb. Then those same masked assailants from the bowling alley began to shoot up another place you were in.

You just couldn’t catch a break. You hoped that and the orchestra leaving meant that there was enough commotion to distract Vanya from what you were trying to do. You took your shoes off so there would be practically no noise and snuck behind her. Five arrived on the scene leading to more gunfire.

“Wait what’s Y/N doing?” He called from his cover. Luther and Diego watched as you tiptoed behind Vanya.

Admittedly, they kind of forgot about you. The siblings began to fight off the assailants to provide you some cover and further distraction for Vanya. Suddenly, Klaus stood up and strained his hands. He conjured Ben. He conjured Ben, who was no longer alive. He conjured Ben, who was no longer alive but was now kicking ass thanks to the tentacles bursting from his abdomen.

Cha-cha threatened to spoil the party and kill both you and Vanya but thankfully Diego had you covered. 

Vanya began to emit more power making it more difficult for you to reach her, and her suit turned white. Everything began to crumble, and you panicked, reaching for Vanua’s bow too early. She sent you flying back behind the siblings who were making a plan. A glowing hand reached down to help you up. Ben.

The two of you reunited briefly before Klaus called for you. You walked hand-in-hand to your family and planned your attack. 

“So how you wanna end this thing?” Diego relinquished control to Luther, who replied.

“We surround her. We come at her from all angles.”

Klaus looked at you and Ben, who despite the circumstances seemed incredibly happy to be in each other’s presence, “So it’s a suicide mission.”

Five explained, “Yeah but one of us could get through. It’s the only chance we’ve got.”

“Are we all in?” Luther asked. You all confirmed you were. You said goodbye to Ben, promising you would see each other soon.

Diego went stage left, Luther went stage right, and you, Klaus, and Five spread out evenly in front of the stage.

Vanya’s power grew more and more intense as the concert came to a crescendo.

Luther cried, “NOW!”

You all ran at Vanya, who sent another blast out from the tip of her bow, this time holding the five of you in the air. Allison held a gun to the back of her sister’s head, silently and tearfully threatening to shoot her. The energy was being drained from you so you hoped she would do something soon.

She moved the gun to Vanya’s shoulder, shooting to disrupt her hearing and distract her long enough to let you all go. It worked, only for Vanya to send another beam of light through the auditorium roof and into the moon. Allison caught Vanya as she fell back and the five of you had recovered enough to run on the stage with them.

Allison confirmed that Vanya was still alive, and the family breathed a sigh of relief. They had saved the world.

You looked to the moon to see if the beam had done any damage. It had.

“Uh guys, look at the moon!”

Klaus pointed out that there was a giant moon rock hurtling towards the earth at a terrifying rate. “So much for saving the world.”

You stayed with Allison and Vanya as the men stood together, ready to face the end of the world. Five paced back and forth behind you.

“At least we’re together at the end. As a family.” Luther mused.

“This doesn’t have to be the end.” Five realised. “I think I have a way outta here. But you gotta trust me on this. We use my ability to time travel, but this time I take you with me.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Diego responded.

All of you agreed to trust Five, even Ben, and Luther picked up Vanya. You all held hands as Five opened a vortex above your heads. It sank down over you slowly as Five strained. You saw a glimpse of your younger selves as the portal closed over you. Then there was nothing.


End file.
